The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW, or “Web”) provide various ways for people to interact with each other, including, for example, email, chat rooms, web logs (commonly referred to as “blogs”), discussion boards or forums, and social networking applications. Some of these and other forms of communication support the creation of online communities comprising groups of people with common interests who interact through the Internet and the Web. A popular area of interest for online communities includes movies, television programs, online videos, user-generated content, or other offline or online content.
Currently there are numerous online communities that have been created to enable members to exchange messages about the content of common interest. The content of common interest is viewed, played, or otherwise consumed by the members of the online community, either online or offline, and then the members engage in an online discussion about the content. For example, there are a number of blogs, chat boards, and discussion boards through which users frequently discuss the consumed content.
One type of community is a blog, which is a website in which entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. The blog author posts commentary regarding the consumed content. A typical blog may combine text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to the consumed content. Some blogs include an interactive feature that enables readers to comment on the posted content or the consumed content. Chat rooms are another form of online discussion. A chat room enables multiple users to share text messages in real-time, either one-on-one or as part of a group. Chat rooms are considered synchronous because, from the perspective of the user, the messages occur in real-time (i.e., the communication tool requires the users to be present in the chat room at the same time). Discussion boards or forums are similar to chat rooms, although the messages do not necessarily occur in real-time.
A relatively new online community tool, referred to as an online viewing party, enables members to collaborate in an online environment by exchanging messages and other commentary, while simultaneously viewing the consumed content. Members can schedule viewing parties and invite other members to the online environment. The consumed content is presented to the members in real-time, either online in association with the online viewing party or offline via a linear television broadcast or other delivery method. Online viewing parties have gained popularity as a medium for consuming online and offline programming. However, existing online viewing party applications are synchronous, requiring all viewers to be online at the same time in the same manner as a chat room model. The chat room model has a number of drawbacks. The viewers must be online at the same time. Because of the real-time limitations, the chat room model must have a large supporting community to ensure adequate participation. Furthermore, a chat room requires costly moderation.
Despite the success and popularity of these types of online communities, there remains a need in the industry for improved systems, methods, computing devices, and computer software for providing online viewing parties.